The Winding Stair
A beloved Irish restaurant above the bookshop of the same name, with windows over the Ha'penny Bridge and the Liffey.
The call
Worth it if you're traveling as a couple and you're traveling solo.
Short answer
Is The Winding Stair worth it?
The Winding Stair deserves a place on most first itineraries.
The answer depends on your budget, time and travel style; the breakdown below shows who gets the most value.
Why
- 01
Snug, bookish and unmistakably Dublin, with hearty modern-Irish plates and a river view at dusk.
- 02
It feels like a local secret even though everyone knows it.
Is it a fit?
Go if
You're traveling as a couple
As a couple, The Winding Stair is an easy yes.
You're traveling solo
Solo, The Winding Stair is an easy yes.
Food is a reason to travel
The Winding Stair rewards a trip built around food & drink.
You prefer local life to spectacle
The Winding Stair rewards a trip built around local authenticity.
Think twice if
You're watching the budget
The Winding Stair can strain a tight budget. Go only when it is a priority.
You only have one day
Keep The Winding Stair only when it outranks a half-day elsewhere.
You're traveling with kids
With kids, The Winding Stair needs the right timing and tolerance.
You're planning for two
The Winding Stair offers some romance, but not enough to make it the reason to go.
The plates that decide it
- The Winding Stair fish plate — Burren Smokehouse and Goatsbridge smoked fish, pickled herring and treacle bread — built for sharing
- The Irish seafood chowder with brown bread — whiting, haddock and leek in a creamy broth — the comfort order
- Anything you'd order anywhere — come for the Irish ingredients, not the international options
Plan it well
- Cost
- Mid-range; set lunch is good value
- Allow
- 1.5–2 hours
Sources and method (2)
- Sits above the former Winding Stair bookshop at 40 Ormond Quay Lower, overlooking the Ha'penny Bridge; named after the W.B. Yeats poem and revived as a restaurant in 2006 by Elaine Murphy. winding-stair.com ↗
- Champions seasonal Irish produce and traditional dishes (e.g. Dublin Coddle, smoked haddock in milk) from island-based artisan producers. discoverireland.ie ↗